Nawaz Sharif condemns the brutal murder of Farzana Parveen, and orders the arrests of the culprits. She was stoned to death by her family in broad daylight in front of a courthouse for marrying the man of her choice rather than someone picked by the family. During the attack, police did not nothing to stop the murder, her husband said. Each year, about a hundred "honour killings" take place in the country.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Pakistan's government of Pakistan will take "immediate action" to bring to justice those responsible for the brutal stoning of Farzana Parveen, a young woman who was three-months pregnant, by her family in an "honour killing" in front of a courthouse in Lahore.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif described the murder as "totally unacceptable". He ordered the chief minister of Punjab province to take "immediate action" and submit a report by Thursday evening.

The brutal act took place on May 27 in the morning at the entrance to the High Court, where a hearing was scheduled in which the woman intended to defend her husband Muhammad Iqbal from the charge brought by her family of kidnapping and forced marriage.

Farzana planned to tell the court that she had contracted the marriage - about a month ago - of her own free will, after an engagement of several years.

Dozens of relatives were waiting for her outside the courtroom. When she arrived, they launched an attack against the woman. After a brother tried to shoot but missed her, they continued with sticks and stones.

The husband managed to escape and hide in a safe place. Several police officers and agents, assigned to Court security, were present at the time of the attack, which took place in broad daylight, but did not intervene.

"They watched Farzana being killed and did nothing," her husband, Muhammad Iqbal, said.

Mr Iqbal described the police as "shameful" and "inhuman" for their failure to stop the attack.

"We were shouting for help, but nobody listened. One of my relatives took off his clothes to capture police attention but they didn't intervene," he added.

Despite the prime minister's statement, arranged marriages are still the norm in Pakistan, and getting married against a family's wishes is unthinkable, especially in conservative communities and rural areas.

About a hundred "honour killings" are carried out each year based on this social custom.

• pakistan
• honour
• killing
• stoning